Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 3/22/2019

Friday, March 22, 2019

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Minnesota Wild travel to Capital One Arena to play the Washington Capitals on Friday, March 22, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Wild at +150 and the Capitals at -180.

Minnesota has a record of 34-31-9 this season. They are 5th in the Central Division. They have scored 199 goals and given up 213 goals for a point differential of -14. For the season they have an ATS record of 34-40-0 and an over/under record of 29-38-0. Washington has a record of 43-23-8 this year. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 252 goals and surrendered 230 for a goal differential of +22. Their record against the spread is 43-31-0 while their over/under record is 39-32-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 34-40-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 29-38-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 43-31-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 39-32-0 against the over/under this season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/17/18 D Matt Dumba Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/14/19 C Joel Eriksson Ek Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/07/19 C Mikko Koivu Knee is out for season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

03/21/19 D Michal Kempny Lower Body is downgraded to out Friday vs Minnesota

Player Spotlight

Devan Dubnyk has 28 wins and 25 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 1,712 shots against him and he's given up 151 goals. He's made 1,561 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Jason Zucker has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Wild. He has 21 goals this year with 201 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 18 assists on the season and averages 17.2 minutes played per game. Zach Parise averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 26 goals on 224 shots. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nicklas Backstrom has scored 69 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 18 goals this season with 158 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 51 assists on the season and averages 20 minutes played per game. Braden Holtby has 27 wins and 18 losses this year in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,616 shots against him and he's surrendered 150 goals. He's made 1,466 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Alex Ovechkin averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 48 goals on 301 shots. He has 35 assists, giving him a total of 83 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild have allowed 220 power play opportunities and have given up 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80% this year. That is 16th in the NHL. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.52% for the season. They allow 29 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 21st in the league. The Wild have 77 total points this season, ranking 19th in the NHL in offense. They are 24th in the league with 199 goals while they've given up 213 goals, which is 20th overall. They have had 221 power play opportunities and scored 46 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 13th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Capitals are 5th with 252 goals scored while they are 10th in the NHL with 230 goals allowed this year. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.12%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 19th place in the league. The Capitals have a total of 94 points this year, which is 4th in the NHL. They have 47 power play goals on 218 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks their power play unit 9th. They've allowed 248 power play opportunities and have given up 52 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, which is 22nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5%, as they've attempted 4,241 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,150 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.1% as they have 3,195 attempts while they have given up 3,056 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 11th in the league. The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 51.6% of the time, which is 14th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.4% for the season. That is 18th overall in the NHL. They have 2,200 face-off wins compared to 2,221 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That ranks them 17th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 1,423 hits and they have blocked 1,094 shots from the opposition, putting them 11th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals are 15th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.5% for the season, which is 17th in the NHL. They have 1,953 face-off wins compared to 2,328 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 45.6%. That is 31st in the league. On defense Washington has 1,697 hits and they have blocked 1,125 shots from the opposition, which is 7th in the league. Washington is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.1% as they've attempted 4,262 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,415 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.6% ranks 17th as they have 3,241 attempts while they have given up 3,290 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Wild/Capitals NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Washington -180

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